Mama Momoe
by YaoiK
Summary: One day during practice, the team noticed that Sakaeguchi was acting strangely high-strung. Why was he behaving like this? And what's going on with him and Coach Momoe? [slight slight slight SakaeSuya]
1. Chapter 1

"_Yuuto…_"

A sterile, white hospital room is filled with the colors of that early evening's sunset, the open window letting in a warm summer breeze.

"_Yuuto, wake up sweetheart._"

A young mother holds her infant son, her third child and second boy. To her right is her middle child and first son, Yuuto, who is sleeping soundly on the edge of the bed beside her. Her husband waits patiently with her eldest and only daughter Mayumi while she attempts to wake him.

"_Come on now, it's time for us to go home. It's time to show the house to Yukio._"

Yuuto stirs as his mother runs a hand through his short hair. His eyes part open slowly, his sleepiness blurring his view of his beloved mother.

"…Mom?"

Sakaeguchi Yuuto awoke from his dream with a slight headache. Sitting up in bed, he glanced around the room. It was early morning on a Sunday, the sun's rays peeking through his curtains and giving his room some light. He ran a hand through his hair as he remembered just what he was dreaming about.

"…_Shit_."

-o-

Sakaeguchi stumbled downstairs for breakfast as his father was running out the door, late for work. He rubbed his forehead softly as he joined his siblings in the kitchen.

"Good Morning Yuuto nii-chan!" his younger brother Yukio grinned. Sakaeguchi smiled.

"Morning Yuki." He said. His older sister Mayumi was at the stove whipping up some pancakes as the second baseman went to the fridge for some orange juice.

"Yuu, I have to go to work today, so you're in charge of Yuki." She said. "He has baseball practice after lunch, so ask Yui-san next door to drive you to the field. Remember to pack him a snack since he won't be back 'til after dinner, and I already have his Coach dropping him off when practice is over."

"Got it." Sakaeguchi nodded, chugging down his juice as she served him and his brother their breakfast. "Say, did Dad run out without eating again?"

"He needs a new alarm clock, his current one won't ring when it should." Mayumi answered, washing the pan of any batter sticking to the bottom. "But to answer your question, yeah, though I made him swear that he'd at least buy something to eat for lunch. He can't keep skipping meals like this."

"Yeah, I should probably pull something together for him since I'm up so early for practice these days." Sakaeguchi said.

"That'd save me the trouble of scolding him when he gets home every night." Mayumi said, rinsing the now clean pan. "Oh, and don't forget we'll be on our own for a week when Dad goes out of town with his job tomorrow."

"Yeah… didn't he mention something about a babysitter?" Sakaeguchi asked.

"I told him that I'd be just fine taking care of you two while he's gone." Mayumi grumbled. "But he still says we need someone _older_ to keep an eye on us."

"Well, you're not exactly… our _mom_, you know." Sakaeguchi scratched the back of his neck absent-mindedly, avoiding his sister's immediately concerned gaze. She could tell something was up.

"All done!" Yukio proclaimed, startling his siblings somewhat and bringing his dishes to the sink. "Thank you for the food!"

"You're welcome, Yuki." Mayumi smiled, adding them to the soapy water already in the sink. "Now go get changed out of your pajamas and make sure your bag has all your baseball stuff in it, okay?"

"Okay!" Yukio grinned and ran upstairs, leaving his two older siblings to talk freely.

"What happened now?" Mayumi asked.

"What do you mean?" Sakaeguchi asked in return, sitting down at the table.

"You never mention Mom in that tone unless something's eating at you." She answered.

"It's nothing…" he muttered, stuffing his mouth with a piece of pancake. "I just dreamt about her this morning, that's all."

"…It's been nine years, hasn't it?" Mayumi let Yukio's dishes soak in the murky water as she pondered that fact. Their mother had passed away not long after Yukio's birth due to an illness. Mayumi had been 10 at the time, Yuuto, 6. They were now 19 and 15 years old, and it broke her heart to know Yukio has never seen his mother except through pictures and home movies.

"I'd rather not think about it." Sakaeguchi said, albeit bitterly. "We don't have time to mull over the fact she's gone. We have to focus on raising Yukio and keeping Dad in check, okay?"

"Right…" Mayumi understood the reason for the bitter tone of her brother's voice. Their mother's death definitely affected him negatively, though he continually kept that fact to himself on a regular basis. He didn't want Yukio to get upset just because he wasn't in control of his own emotions.

Once his breakfast was finished, Sakaeguchi headed upstairs himself to change. It may be a Sunday, but he wasn't allowed to just sit in his pajamas, which were really just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, all day long. His neighbors came by frequently to see how they were doing, so he had to at least look somewhat presentable. Plus, because his sister would be working all day, it was his turn to do some of the shopping, but that would be after lunch.

Upstairs in his room, Sakaeguchi flopped onto his bed with a sigh, burying his face in his pillow. What a way to start a Sunday morning… Looking over to his nightstand, he focused on the picture frame that contained a single photo of his mother, taken the day she brought Yukio home. She had long light brown hair that matched his own, and smiled warmly to her father who was taking the photo. Little Yukio was in her arms while Mayumi and himself were situated on either side of her, smiling happily with the arrival of their new baby brother.

If only they had known they would know such grief only a few months later…

Punching his pillow a few times, the second baseman tore open his closet to look for something to wear. Normal sweatpants and t-shirt would be fine until he had to accompany Yukio to baseball practice and then do some grocery shopping.

Figuring to vent out his pent-up bitterness so as to not be in such a sour mood all day, Sakaeguchi powered on his X-Box and plugged in his controller. Using the Live feature, he joined a regular first-person shooter game and went to work. It was only when his phone started buzzing with a few texts that he stopped playing.

There were three texts from Tajima and one text from Suyama. He opened the one from Suyama first, since it was probably about what Tajima was saying anyway.

_We were all thinking about hanging out today_. The text read. _It was mainly Tajima's idea though. Are you free?_

_Not really. I have to drop my brother off at baseball practice after lunch._ Sakaeguchi replied. _And my sister's working all day today, so I have to watch him until then. Plus, I have to do the shopping today, which won't free me up 'til at least 2:30. So I think I'll pass._

Sakaeguchi knew he could just join up with them once he was done grocery shopping, but being in the crappiest mood at the time, he didn't feel like going anywhere. He didn't want his friends to notice and ask him what was wrong, because he didn't want to explain it to them.

Sakaeguchi's phone buzzed a good seven more times before he even bothered to open it. They were all from Tajima, save an '_Ok_' text from Suyama, all nagging him to come. Sakaeguchi sent the same response he sent to Suyama and left it at that. He just wanted to be alone for the time being…

Lying down on his back atop his now made bed after turning off his TV set, Sakaeguchi rested his hands on his chest, one folded into the other. He stared up at his ceiling before his gaze fell to his hands. Squinting at the memory long past, he could still see the light mark that it left behind. It was invisible along the creases of his wrist, but he could still remember the panic and fear, as well as the droplet of relief, that the red line had brought him.


	2. Chapter 2

Suyama stared at his watch as he waited for the movie to start. The members of the team who could make it all decided on going to see a movie, and the shortstop was ultimately a little sidetracked. It wasn't like Sakaeguchi to just pass on an offer to hang out with the team, but he had given legitimate reasons to not go… He just couldn't shake this bad feeling he had. It felt like something was wrong with his best friend, but he didn't have any idea what it could be. And just going off on a bad feeling wasn't a good reason to ask the second baseman what was on his mind. He needed to at least see him to ask if anything was wrong, because usually his facial expression would give it away. As the movie started, Suyama figured he would just wait until practice the next day to see if his worry was really necessary.

(-)

The following morning, Sakaeguchi woke up earlier than he normally did, noticing that there wasn't much light coming from outside. Regardless, he climbed out of bed and headed downstairs for breakfast. As he stepped down the stairs, he remembered that today was when his dad would be leaving for that trip with his job, and that meant he'd be meeting their babysitter that morning. His father had mentioned that he had hired someone they already knew well, but no one came to mind as Sakaeguchi thought about it.

However, as he stepped into the kitchen to find the one and only Maria Momoe pulverizing oranges with her bare hands to his younger brother's amazement, he finally got it. But not until after he fainted from the surprise at finding his _baseball coach_ in his kitchen at four in the morning.

When he came to, he found his sister fanning him down as he was still on the floor in the middle of the kitchen.

"Ow…" he mumbled, feeling a small throb on the back of his head. "That hurts…"

"Well that's what happens when you pass out in the kitchen." Mayumi said as he sat up.

"I passed out?" Sakaeguchi asked.

"Papa! Auntie! Yuuto nii-chan woke up!" he heard Yukio call from the other room. Immediately, Sakaeguchi's dad along with Coach Momoe walked into the kitchen from another entrance. The second baseman instantly remembered why he had fainted just a few minutes before.

"Wh-Wh… Wha…" he stuttered out, pointing to Momoe and looking to his dad.

"I can explain." His father said. "Since a regular babysitter or nanny would be pretty expensive to hire for a week, I asked Miss Momoe if she could watch you guys. I promised her some minimal payment once I got back, so… yeah. She's your babysitter for a week."

Sakaeguchi looked to Momoe, who nodded to confirm what his father had said. The second baseman went pale, and his sister tapped him on the head with the fan she was holding to bring his attention to her.

"Don't go fainting again." She said. "Dad has to get going."

"Ah, right, I have to catch the first train." Their father said, checking to make sure he had everything before having the fan whapped into his face as well.

"Make sure you eat three square meals a day, Dad." Mayumi said strictly. "I don't want to see you come home fading away into nothing, you hear me?"

"I know, Mayu, I know." He said, straightening his tie. "Well, I best be off. I'll see you all in a week, behave for Miss Momoe!"

"Bye Dad!" Yukio gave him a hug before he bolted out the door to head for the station.

The house fell silent for a moment as Sakaeguchi was still utterly aghast at the fact his coach would be living with him for a week! He couldn't help but wonder if it was going to go as well as his father hoped or if he were headed straight for hell.

"So who's hungry?" Momoe clapped her hands to break the tension.

"I sure am!" Yukio grinned, hopping to the table.

"Any ideas as to what you'd want?" Momoe took a peek in the fridge.

"We had pancakes yesterday, so I was thinking something with eggs." Mayumi joined Momoe at the newly stocked refrigerator from Sakaeguchi's grocery store run that previous day. "Maybe an omelet?"

"An omelet might not be filling." Momoe said. "And we don't want to use too many eggs at once or we'll run out quickly. Some rice or toast and a glass of milk or orange juice should be enough to bridge the gap though, so omelets it is!"

Sakaeguchi was honestly a little surprised at how quickly his siblings took to Momoe, though as his father had said, they already met her long before this. He cautiously joined Yukio at the table while the two women made breakfast, honestly hoping this experience was going to go as smoothly as his father hoped.

"So, Yuuto, do you usually get up this early?" Momoe asked from the kitchen counter.

"Not normally." Sakaeguchi replied. "I usually wake up a little later, like right after my dad leaves but I woke up on my own this ti—…Eh?" The second baseman paused before turning to the two women who, at that moment, began to laugh with his realization.

"Took him a minute, but you were right!" Momoe took a breath to stop her laughter. Sakaeguchi sat at the table, completely bewildered. "Sorry about that. But I was considering keeping this all on a first-name basis since you're all Sakaeguchis, you know?"

"I-I guess that'd be okay." Sakaeguchi slightly stuttered. "…But you'll keep that first-name basis only at home, right?"

"Of course." Momoe grinned. "I'll make sure I keep it off the field so I don't end up embarrassing you. Though if I slip up, don't hold it against me, alright?"

"R-Right…" Sakaeguchi nodded, though he didn't really have much choice in the matter. Mayumi and Momoe continued to talk as they finished preparing breakfast, Yukio asking to see Momoe crush some more oranges with her bare hands again. She complied and gave him the glass of juice that was the result, and the youngest Sakaeguchi tried to squeeze an orange on his own, trying to squish it between his hands. Momoe chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"You'll have to wait until you're a little older to try that." She smiled. "Once the orange can fit perfectly in your hand, then you can focus on getting the hand strength to crush it. That's how I learned. But in the meantime, some beginner strength training might be a good start for someone your age. You play baseball too, right?"

"Yeah!" Yukio said. "I play first base, though my coach hasn't mentioned strength training before."

"Well, you're still a little young for the intense training." Momoe said. "But pushing your current limits just a bit will prepare you for when you do get to that level. I could help you if you want."

"That'd be awesome!" Yukio beamed.

"Now let me think, how does the schedule look so far?" Momoe said to herself, holding her chin in thought. "Yuuto needs to be at practice at five; Yukio and Mayumi don't have to leave until later around 6 to get to their respective schools, which I have to drive Yukio to, right?"

"I usually drop him off at the bus stop nearby." Mayumi answered, setting the table. "His school is in the opposite direction of mine, so I can't take him the whole way."

"Then I'll drop him off in the mornings, it should only be a ten to fifteen minute drive." Momoe nodded. "Then I'll get back to practice and keep with them until they have to head to class. I'll work my usual part-time jobs and maybe get dinner ready too. Then I'll start after-school practice, taking the time to collect Yukio from his practice and we'll all end up home to eat together. Sound like a plan?"

"I could make dinner." Mayumi said. "I get home around 3, so I have time. You focus on your part-time jobs."

"That's very nice of you, Mayumi." Momoe smiled. "That sounds like everything we have to cover."

"What about bedtimes?" Yukio asked.

"In order to get up on time, you should go to sleep at a decent hour." Momoe answered. "If we all eat together at nine, ten pm should be a good bedtime. Unless you have homework that needs finishing, only then can you stay up a little later. You need a good amount of sleep in order to grow."

"Sounds good." Mayumi said, serving breakfast. The four ate together in a peaceful sort of atmosphere, Momoe already feeling like… one of the family even. Sakaeguchi's grip on his chopsticks tightened as a bitter taste filled his mouth. He began to repeat to himself that Momoe was just his coach, and for the while, his babysitter. No matter how right it felt to have her at the table with them, he couldn't allow the wrong idea to linger in his head. That wouldn't be right.

The second baseman was snapped from his mulling when Yukio announced he was done, and headed upstairs to get ready for school. Momoe finished shortly after, and reminded him that they had to be at practice soon, so he had to hurry up and get ready so they wouldn't be late. Sakaeguchi nodded and momentarily finished eating and headed upstairs as well.

Leaning on his closed door, he sighed. This was going to take some getting used to.


End file.
